Comic Book Review: Superman #697

Book Information

Written by James Robinson

Art by Bernard Chang & Javier Pina

Plot

Mon-El and Superboy begin to learn of a connection that stems further than they had anticipated.  Now the question is, what does the Legion of Superheroes have planed for our the newly inducted Man of Steel?

My Thoughts

I am supposed to feel confused by the events happening in this issue?  Everything that occurred in #697 of Superman left me more perplexed and in a state of uncertainty than anything else.  The book splits into two parts, part I begins with the present, and part II goes into a flashback sequence which I assume is supposed to explain the events in part I.  Along with this, we have two artists splitting up the duties between parts I & II, which I’m not sure I’m particularly a fan of.  When all is said and done, I put the book down unsure of what is supposed to happen or how I should feel.

From what I understand of this issue, part II is supposed to help explain the events that occurred in part I, more importantly, why the Legion of Superheroes decide to intervene and delay Mon-El.  Yet part II only shows the Legion once…on the last page of story.  I went through part II many times, specifically focusing on the conversation between Mon-El and Superboy and nothing provided any clues as to why the Legion of Superheroes decided to show up and attack Mon-El.  There are no hints what-so-ever, only a ridiculously boring conversation Mon-El has with Conner Kent.  The first part is pretty exciting however, filled with a lot of action and interesting dialogue.  Once the Legion actually shows up, I was pretty engaged with the story.  Robinson did a great job in building up tension and angst with part I, but I just can’t get past the confusion the layout of this issue took.

The art was even more agitating.  Why hire two artists to complete one comic?  I’ve always taken issue when comics divvy up the responsibilities between artists.  I like the consistency of a single artist rather than numerous ones.  Bernard Chang really started part I with a bang.  His art is much better suited for Superman than Wonder Woman, and he definitely delivered.  Javier Pina on the other hand is nothing to get excited about.  For me, Chang is much more talented than Pina and to stick these two on the same project is truly distracting for me.  If DC had picked a different, more capable artistic team, say Chang and Bagely, it wouldn’t have been as big of a deal.  But to stick these two together, on top of the confused state I was in by the end of the story, the issue was a huge let down for me.  I mean what do you prefer, this…

Or this….

Overall

Robinson has definitely done better, but it isn’t his worst attempt.  It was engaging to a point, but the story fell apart in part II, as did the art.  With only half of the book being good, and the other half being very poor, I can only justly give it a slightly above average rating…

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming March 24, 2010

"Brainiac and The Legion of Super-Heroes" Part 3! Superman is trapped on Brainiac's ship while New Krypton burns! Mon-El will need to call upon all the skills he's learned in the last year if he's going to have a chance of freeing the Man of Steel! Plus, what secret about Brainiac will the duo learn that may help turn the tide?

Comic Book Review: Supergirl #50

Book Information

Written by Sterling Gates

Art by Jamal Igle

Plot

Supergirl finds herself bugged out by a familiar foe.  The Queen Bee returns in the form of Lana Lang!  Can she free her friend from the demon alien insect without killing her?  The decisions made by Supergirl in this issue may turn her life around for the worst.  One can only hope she knows what she’s doing.

My Thoughts

Sterling Gates, You’re my hero.  You were able to boost Supergirl to a new high where she was finally showing some maturity and adult-like behaviors.  It is because of you Supergirl has become one of the titles I anticipate the most on a monthly basis.  But what you did in this issue was almost a complete step back from what you’ve established within Supergirl’s world.

Granted, the bulk of the issue shows off Kara’s ability to lead and take charge of a situation.  I mean, good grief, She was instrumental of making the device that helped put a stop to Queen Bee’s evil plot.  (Who knew she was an inventor in addition to being a superhero?)  And the love she portrays towards Lana Lang and her drive to save her is deserving of the Maturity award of the year.  But how she handles Lana’s lie ruined the entire book for me.  I understand the need for trust among friends and family, but I also understand the necessity of not revealing everything in ones life.  The reason why Lana didn’t tell Kara everything is because, in the words of Prof. Dumbledore, “I care too much about you.”  And she’s right!  Kara had enough on her plate without having to worry about Lana.  I mean, Superman was willing to leave Earth for a very long time, leave his wife Lois and everyone he loves the most for a greater good.  I think Kara needs to re-evaluate her commitment to the “Super” family.  That or Gates decided he didn’t care anymore.

But the issue isn’t a total flop…far from it in fact!  Jamal Igle certainly holds nothing back in his artistic attempts.  While he isn’t my favorite artist and definitely has his flaws, no one can deny his attention to the smallest details.  Even the ripples in Supergirl’s outfit as she carries Gangbuster through the sky away from the Queens hive layer are sight to see.  And I must admit, he certainly knows how to make Kara a gorgeous girl…

It’s nice to see Superwoman return from what seemed like a fate worse than death.  Her character, at first, seemed a little strange, mainly due to her costume.  But given her history and the intelligent way Gates integrated her into the story, I’m glad to see Lucy Lane back in the red and Blue.

Overall

Apart from the very annoying ending, this issue keeps you wanting more.  Art and writing are fantastic.  It’s just disappointing to see Kara take a step back from her adult behaviors.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming March 17, 2010

"Brainiac and The Legion of Super-Heroes" Part 2! Amidst Brainiac's assault on New Krypton, General Zod has brandished the Legion of Super-Heroes terrorists and imprisoned them! Superboy will do his best to free them, but he'll have to go through Supergirl first! That's right, it's the Super-battle of the sexes you've been waiting for! Poor Ma Kent is going to be so disappointed in them…

Comic Book Review: Action Comics #886

Book Information

Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann

Art by Pere Perez

Plot

Discover the mythological secrets of Krypton’s past as Chris learns of the origin of Krypton and the importance of his connection with Flamebird.  Krypton’s religious history is visualized for us in the most intriguing ways and brings to light some new realizations about Krypton and it’s relevance in the DC Universe.  Then, of course, Rucka makes some connections with the past and present that shockingly make sense.

My Thoughts

I actually disobeyed my number one rule and went around the internet looking at what others thought of this issue.  The general consensus?  Most thought it was boring, filled with unnecessary storyline.  Some readers weren’t fans of discovering that Jax-Ur was the breaker we’ve been wondering about this whole time, while some feel the art work is below the quality it needs to be.  It looks as if my review will be a complete 180 degree difference in comparison to everyone else because I loved every aspect of this issue!

Mythological stories appeal to me in such a way that is almost indescribable.  There’s something about the traditional and cultural stores of a culture that helps you to understand and relate to the people so much more.  Learning the Mythos of Krypton brought me closer to the heart of a planet long since departed.  This is why Star Wars and Lord of the Rings is such a good story, it digs deep into the mythos of a society that most other stories do not.  We love learning about different cultures, even if we say we don’t.  This issue is my gold at the end of the rainbow; a sociological gem.

The mystery in this story does take me by surprise.  Early on we know Jax-Ur holds some importance to the story, but never did I think it would be like this.  Now Rucka has me wondering who else of Rao’s sons and daughters could be out there, ready to save the world, or to destroy it?  Rucka does a really great job at setting up some climactic conclusions for the legendary Kryptonian heroes.

I am unsure why everyone hates the art so much, especially during the telling of the Book of Rao.  The clever usage of light and darks was fascinating.  I was most intrigued by the dragon-like forms of Nightwing and Flamebird and how the flames engulfed Nightwing’s black body, but without illuminating it.  It was fun to look at and appreciate.

Overall

Best of the month thus far.  I will say this however, during the Book of Rao sequence the literature becomes quite lengthy and wordy.  For me personally, I love that it took me much longer than normal to read through a comic book; justified paying $4 for it.  But if you don’t like reading long issues, you may not enjoy Action Comics #886.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming March 10. 2010

In this corner – the already beaten, exhausted and bruised Nightwing and Flamebird! And in this corner – the reincarnation of the all-powerful Kryptonian sun god Rao! Place your bets! (Smart money's on the sun god.)
And in the co-feature, Captain Atom has to answer for his past sins by fighting the entire Justice League of America single-handedly!

Comic Book Review: Superman #696

Book Information

Written by James Robinson

Art by Bernard Chang

Plot

Things are beginning to make sense as the mystery revolving around Zod’s sleeper agent begins its path towards successfully concluding.  Nightwing, Flamebird, and Mon-El, after freeing themselves from a pile of rubble, and avoiding a confrontation with General Lane, fly out in search for Zod’s phantom player.  But what they find instead is so much more devastating.

My Thoughts

James Robinson!  You continually amaze me at your inconsistent story telling abilities!  You’re up, then you’re down, then you’re up again, then back down.  I can’t make up my mind about you!  I think I’m going to give up and say that you have more talent coming out of your pinky than most other writers, but sometimes that talent gets stuck there.  This issue was fantastic in comparison to your past recent work.  I’ve despised the Superman title almost the whole way through since you came on board, but every once in a while you’ll produce a gem that entices me to read on with anticipation.

The story is slow to the punch and doesn’t contain much substance, but fits in nicely with the book in and of itself.  The first half spends most of it’s time with Flamebird and Nightwing flying away from Lane’s army while the second half exposes Mon-El’s chest hair as he tears the General a new hole.  It was a great bit of dialogue that was nice to see come out of Mon-El’s mouth.  I was wondering when he was truly going to live up to the Superman legacy and put evil men in their place.  There were moments where it even felt as if Mon-El was in fact Kal-El, but that is probably more to the improved talents of Bernard Chang on art.

With the Improvement that Robinson displayed with his writing in this issue, Chang did that, plus more with his art.  It seems he has thrown out his timid, babyish art style and adopted a much more rough and messy artistic direction, much like Superman: The Man of Steel had in its first few years of publication.  One exceptionally breathtaking example of this artistic change is the two paged spread where Mon-El pushes himself out from underneath the fallen rock from a smoking hole punched through the side of a building.  The muscle definition in Mon-El’s figure, and the posture in which Chang positioned him, and the brilliant use of color is gorgeous.  Along with that, every face, body, and detail with the surrounding building wreckage is flawless.  Bernard Chang has given himself a definite boost in the comic book world with this issue.

Overall

While being James Robinson’s best piece of work in a while, the issue still lacks something.  However, with the spectacular art and the pleasant change in writing quality, this issue definitely qualifies as one of the better comics for the month of January.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 24, 2010

"Man of Valor" Part 4! With the Legion of Super-Hero members in the 21st century now revealed to Mon-El, the Man of Valor learns of a greater destiny he and Superboy share; one that ties directly in to the fate of New Krypton and Kal-El! 

Comic Book Review: Supergirl #49

Book Information

Written by Sterling Gates

Art by Matt Camp

Plot

The world has gone mad.  A horde of Zombie Lanterns roam the universe.  New Krypton commences in what could be a civil war.  The Justice Society copes with a catastrophic spilt in its team causing anger and hatred.  The new dynamic duo put their lives at risk in reviving the Dark Knight in a Lazarus pit.  Two Kryptonians are realizing they are Krypton’s mythological beings made manifest.  And the Justice League has the destruction of an entire city to deal with.  Amongst all the chaos, death, confusion and evil that surrounds the entire world, Supergirl is the one most in pain as she comes to realize that one of her best friends and mentor has died very unexpectedly…Lana Lang.

My Thoughts

My favorite episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was when Buffy’s mother dies very unexpectedly.  The entire hour of that episode had absolutely no music.  Not even a sad musical score was played to help audiences feel for Buffy and her loss.  Even the fights scenes were musicless.  This was such an effective move on Joss Whedon’s part and became a historical landmark in television artistry.  Supergirl #49 gave out that same exact vibe, but with even more heart throbbing emptiness that Buffy had.

The issue starts off with Lana walking down the halls of her apartment building to the front door.  Immediately after requesting a taxi, she begins bleeding profusely from here eye sockets and mouth.  She hits the floor where her blood begins pooling all around her as the red streams run down white face; very unexpected, yet quite effective.

It’s amazing how one very drastic change on ones personal life can cause you to drop everything and forget about the world around you.  Once Supergirl’s super hearing catches the smallest bit of evidence that Lana was in trouble, she zipped by without a moment’s hesitation.  She even disregarded the doctors who were trying to keep her from bursting into the E.R. where Lana’s body lay bedridden, covered in blood and medical wiring.  How devastating it must be, to loose the one you love most in such a horrible way with no real way of achieving a successful sense of closer.  And with that horrible nightmare come true, followed two pages of confusion and silence in Supergirl’s mind.  Sterling Gates has truly outdone himself with this literary masterpiece.

Not only that, Gates has revived the forgotten truth that the Silver Banshee isn’t this “throw out” villain, though DC seems to have befallen that reputation on the screeching demoness.  Yes, there is a truly heart breaking story that comes along with Superman’s bellowing nemesis that causes you to feel sorry and weep for her.  Being haunted by a family for centuries is definitely not my cup of tea, and it’s nice to see Gates help fans to remember and respect this.  This undoubtedly will lead to a story which will attempt to flesh the Banshee’s character out in a developmental manner.

The art by Matt Camp is nothing short of fantastic.  The first half of the book is delivered with clean lines and gorgeous use of colors.  But the second half is only amplified by its horrifying hospital scenes.  Lana with literally blood shot eyes, and the E.R. with its grey color scheme, gives this the illusion of sudden loneliness and apartness.  The cover is breathtakingly beautiful, while containing no sign of happiness.  As happy as I am to see Jamal Igle return to the Supergirl title, Matt Camp will be sorely missed by me.

Overall

There is nothing hopeful or cheery about this book.  Silver Banshee is still trapped in a cursed state, and Lana died unexpectedly with no explanation of why.  It’s so heart breaking, it’s brilliant!  I can’t wait to find out why Lana’s body is covered in black goo!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 17, 2010

Special celebratory 50th issue! Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle reunite to tell an epic, oversized battle royale between the Girl of Steel and a mysterious, diabolical new foe! Still reeling from last issue's harrowing events, Supergirl is put to the test when she uncovers a terrible secret about her friend and confidant, Lana Lang. 
Plus! A look into a day in the life of the Girl of Steel written by Jake Black and Supergirl herself, actress Helen Slater!
Featuring a cover by the man who redefined Supergirl for the 21st century, Michael Turner, SUPERGIRL #50 is an extra-sized extravaganza you won't want to miss!

Comic Book Review: Superman World Of New Krypton #12 (of 12)

Book Information

Written by James Robinson & Greg Rucka

Art by Pete Woods & Ron Randall.

Plot

The perpetrator of the series of murders has been revealed!  Superman is now faced with the terrible truth that one of its own council members has been plotting against New Krypton and Earth since Kandor was freed of Brainiac’s bottled prison.  Superman now faces death as the culprit does all he can to keep his dealings a secret!

My Thoughts

Twelve issues have past.  Twelve installments of a mystery have been put to paper.  As I finished this twelfth and final issue of this mini, I sit back and ask myself…”What The Fuck?!?!”  Let’s keep in mind that within this miniseries were three OTHER miniseries that had little or nothing to do with the overall scheme of the World of New Krypton.  What was the point of this series?  How does it push the regular Superman title forward and connect with the happenings going on Earth currently?  I find myself at a loss in many different aspects.

First, can anyone explain Zod’s strange behavior?  He kept jumping back and forth from acting mysteriously like the villain, to portraying the stature of a truly reformed man.  Yet we know from past issue of Action comics that while everything was happening on New Krypton, he had sleeper agents on Earth doing his biding.  Yet Zod remains unmoved by the turns of events and by the revelation of his laboratory experiments which have seemed to hurt the labor guild.  Maybe I’m over analyzing the situation, but the behavior patterns he displayed and the end result of this series do not match up.

Adam Strange seems to have disappeared just a quickly as he appeared, and with no real sense of accomplishment.  Yeah, he helped Superman solve a few mysteries, but what else did he accomplish that couldn’t have been done without his involvement?  Was Adam Strange brought in to this story just for the sake of doing so?  DC is having a huge “silver age” movement and resurrecting long lost heroes, but Adam Strange’s resurrection seems to be out of place, contrived, and unneeded.  It was cool to have him there, but why? 

And of course, the ending of this mini series has to reveal the murdering bastard correct?  I’m sure we all came to the conclusion that the culprit would be a complete surprise, someone we weren’t expecting right?  Well, that can definitely be said for this issue.  I was so surprised by the out come because I couldn’t remember seeing this man more than two or three times in this whole series!  In fact, with all of the events and how they unfolded, and how characters developed in this story, it doesn’t make sense.  This council member has very little dialogue and doesn’t make appearances in most of the series.  In addition, his motivation for committing these crimes is very confusing and causes me to scratch my head in concern for my own deductive reasoning skills.  “Did I miss something?” I asked myself.  The reason why this review is so late is because I went back through all twelve issues to see where I may have dosed off and missed some important plot twist which would have helped explain this ending to me.  Not surprisingly, I finished skimming all of the comics with no avail.  Robinson did not do this series justice.  DC would have been better off hiring Greg Rucka to write the entire run.  At least DC was intelligent enough to enlist the talents of Rucka before the end to help this series make some semblance of a conclusion, even though there was none.

Overall

Horrible!  I want my $36 and twelve months back that I wasted on this series.  I might even dump this series in the trash it was so bad!  (And that’s saying a lot for me.)  Honestly, if you are waiting for the trade to come out, don’t waste your money.  At least you were saved the pain and torment of paying $3 a month that I wasn’t.

Rating: 0 out of 10 stars

Comic Book Review: Actions Comics #885

Book Information

Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann

Art by Pere Perez

Plot

Earth and New Krypton’s relationship is dangled in front of us in an enormous spread of storylines and plot devices.  Nightwing and Flamebird go on the hunt for Zod’s sleeper agents, but run into trouble when the Science Police, accompanied by Mon-El, corner them.  Can the two so-called mythological heroes of New Krypton convince the Guardian and Mon-El about the oncoming danger that within Metropolis?  And will General Lane finally be put in his place by the one closest to him?

My Thoughts

Rucka, overall, has done a great job with Nightwing and Flamebird; things seem to actually be coming to a successful resolution and tie-in with the New Krypton story.  In this particular issue we are given a few minor plot deviations along with the main one which involves our two headline heroes searching for the sleeper agents of Zods.  How interesting to find out that at least two of those agents have been in our heroes sights the whole time.  I figured it out with Doctor Pillings; however officer Romundi was a complete twist for me.  I commend Rucka for providing a pleasant surprise as most of the plot twists and turns in this arc have been fairly predictable, but not annoyingly so.

I did find myself in a suspended state when Lois Lane decides to confront her father to show him the error of his ways.  It was very short and only consisted of five panels on one page, but it’s still a very powerful moment.  To address one’s parents in a moment of corrective teaching is not the easiest thing in the world to do for a son or daughter.  But, as we all know, Lois Lane is no push over, and neither is her father.  It was a short, yet powerfully moving.

A lesser aspect of the story was the sudden change in loyalty portrayed by the Guardian.  He goes from thinking Nightwing and Flamebird are untrustworthy enemies of Earth, (displayed in his response to Flamebird’s promise to not fight back, “Your word, whatever that’s worth) to trusting them 100% and fighting against General Lane and his band of soldiers.  I’m not sure I entirely buy into the sudden side change, but it was minor flaw that didn’t detract me from the story very much.

I did enjoy the fact that there were only two one paged ads in this book.  This installment is literally jam packed with dialogue and story; very unorthodox for your contemporary comic book these days, a nice little refreshing change.  Maybe this trend will catch on in DC Comics sooner rather than later.

The art has very little flaws.  Perez does an amazing job with the pencils, but his colorists could improve on the color scheme of the book.  Its light tinted tone leaves very little to look at and creates a boring and wooden feel in every page turn.

Overall

Not too shabby of an issue.  Overall, the plot is great; it really pushes the story forward which will help the issue with New Krypton.  However, the art and a few tiny story defects have some effect on the enjoyability of the issue in its entirety.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 10^th, 2010

Nightwing and Flamebird race the clock to capture Jax-Ur, the most dangerous of Zod's sleeper agents. 

And in the Captain Atom co-feature, our hero explores the horrors of his past with the help of Mon-El and Starfire!

Comic Book Review: Superman #695

Book Information

Written by James Robinson

Art by Bernard Chang

Plot

Mon-El, having escaped the clutches of General Lane, now has an opportunity to strut his stuff.  But can Mon-El over come the lies being spread by General Lane, and the oncoming attack from Bizarro and the Parasite?  And how will the Science Police deal with the fact that Mon-El has been someone they’ve known for the past few months? 

My Thoughts

As Superman continues to progress with Mon-El at the foreground, the more bored I become of this story arc.  James Robinson has really drug the “World against Superman” storyline out to the point of no return.  Once again, we the readers find ourselves in the midst of another narrative that does not involve General Lane, New Krypton, or anything that would help propel the New Krypton storyline into a successful conclusion.

Robinson is attempting to give Mon-El new direction in preparation for his time on the new incarnation of the Justice League.  Mon-El was thought to be dead during his time in captivity, and now as a way of bolstering up the confidence level among the people of Metropolis, Robinson has him fight The Parasite and Bizarro.  This fight doesn’t do anything to help the story, nor does create a new sense of purpose within Mon-El’s persona.  Along with this, we have the science police whom Robinson has also not served very well either.  This new order of law enforcement being created by Robinson is quite flimsy and weak and I wonder how much of this is going to stick once Superman returns to his own title.

Now one thing I do give Robinson credit for is his ability to build up a mystery.  I’m very interested to see how the Legion plays into this whole story and if everything being unveiled only seems to be contrived in Robinson’s writing.  In addition, the mystery surrounding Jimmy Olsen’s return from his seemingly deadly experience is driving me nuts.  Now, maybe I had read the Jimmy Olsen mini series to understand more of what’s going on, but I certainly want to know what that thing was that seemed to save Olsen’s life.  There are some great aspects of this issue that give a lot of potential for future issues.

The art in recent issues is up and down with me.  This one in particular was decent, although not fantastic.  Bernard Chang typically does a good job, but isn’t consistent enough for my tastes.  He has moments of brilliance, and moments that initiate my artistic gag reflex.  His characters at times are so wooden and lacking emotionally, and other times he is an utter genius and outdoes some of the best artists in the business.  With this issue in particular, generally it goes above the normal artwork quality that has been laid on the pages of Superman.

Overall

The return of John Henry Irons seems to be a fleeting idea with very little purpose, which lies the major problem with the Superman title since Mon-El took over, one too many plots.  When you attempt to jam pack a title with a lot of side stories, the main story becomes less interesting; almost unnecessary.  And the worse part of it…nothing is resolving fast enough for it to work.  Robinson truly is killing the Superman title.

Rating:  4 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February January 27^th, 2010

"Man of Valor" Part 3! Picking up plot threads from ACTION COMICS #885, the Guardian, Nightwing and Flamebird are hot on the trail of General Zod's Metropolis sleeper agent. But just as they're about to uncover who the sleeper is, tragedy strikes, which leads to a completely different revelation. Seeds for this issue's surprising twist were planted all the way back in James Robinson's first issue – so don't miss it!